Apple's Mac mini - Tempting PC Users Everywhere
by Anand Lal Shimpi on January 25, 2005 7:39 AM EST- Posted in
- Mac
Stability
The Mac mini appears to be just as solid as Apple's other desktops, running non-stop without any performance or stability degradation, thanks to careful selection of hardware, extremely controlled driver updates, and the very robust Mac OS X. Right now, one of the most attractive elements that the mini can offer to beginning computer users is safety and protection from viruses, spyware and pretty much all other forms of malware. Obviously, that can't continue to be true forever, but for the foreseeable future, it's definitely an advantage of owning a platform that makes up around 2% of the market. The beauty of it is that the mini belongs to a family of 2% of the market, yet retains (for the most part) file, networking and printer compatibility with the majority of the Windows market, without the malware.
Out-of-Box Software Completeness
The big question is: do you need any more software other than what comes with the mini? iLife '05 offers the best in photo organization as well as easy-to-use, non-linear video editing software, but what the mini lacks is out-of-box compatibility with the Microsoft Office documents.
There are two solutions to the Office problem, either purchase Microsoft Office 2004 (or an earlier version) for Mac OS X, or purchase iWork '05, which is significantly cheaper at $79. I will discuss iWork in greater detail later on, but offering the ability to import Microsoft Word and Microsoft PowerPoint files will solve most of the problems that would result by not having Office installed (granted, most competitive machines at this price point don't have Office installed either). Update: As many have correctly pointed out, the mini does ship with AppleWorks 6, which will let you open Office 2002 files, and TextEdit will open Word document files that are text-only. AppleWorks 6 is a bit of a dated application, however, and it does ruin a fair bit of the OS X experience because of it.
Other than that, Mac OS X comes with a very full-functioned text editor called TextEdit. Although it can't open Microsoft Word documents, thanks to Mac OS X's system-wide spellcheck, TextEdit works extremely well as an entry-level word processor for the mini. Email is covered with Apple's Mail, which can be best summed up as a faster, easier-to-use competitor to Microsoft Outlook. Of course, things like IM clients and web browsers are already taken care of; Apple's iChat and Safari come pre-installed and there are a number of free alternatives available for download across the web. Of course, the mini works fine sharing files and printers with PCs, and has one-click web and ftp servers ready to go out of the box.
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karlreading - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - link
#23:You kick up against mac bashers and then u have a pop at AMD fans. HOW RUDE. It's quiet obvisouse your a intel fan. your no better than the people you try to show up, claiming they do things whilst you do exactly the same things yourself.
Im a AMD fan, but i dont find that i have to have a pop at intel, mac, or anyone else. AMD make fine products. Intel make fines products. Apple make fine products. just each ones products match diffrent peoples expectations and needs.
as for the mac mini, i think its a excellent little machine. As Anand says, more appliance than computer. i think they will do well.
karlos
Dranzerk - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - link
#2 in response to #1 Im talking about how lots of people will buy these because it's the "it" thing to do, and I will be looking on Ebay for when they are sold cheaper.How was that hard to understand?
michael2k - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - link
Well, if it's within the return period, you can technically 'return it' and get another, with the Tiger CDs/DVDs, or just tell the Apple person, "It would be better for you to send me the Tiger CDs, wouldn't it, than to return this one to CompUSA and get a new one with the new OS right?"So within two weeks I would expect it free, basically (though it takes some social engineering). I don't know about the 'heavy discount' however.
bupkus - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - link
Perhaps Apple should have offered the mini with 512MB as standard and then offered a downgrade option rather than their upgrade option.bob661 - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - link
If you want Tiger, just wait till it's released then by the Mac.msva124 - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - link
You say if tiger comes out right after you buy your machine, it is heavily discounted. Define "right after".Draco - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - link
Great article. Very refreshing to see so much Mac coverage. Look forward to more.Ecgtheow - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - link
#59: If Tiger comes out right after you get your machine, you can get it for $30 through the "Up-to-date" program.sluramod - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - link
#57: good news for apple then ... $499 now + $100 or so laterBurbot - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - link
#40: Thanks for correction.#53: Very true. A lot of people do not understand the connection between memory amount and performance. I've seen that more then once - folks have a machine with 128 megs of RAM that is just dying under load, and when I suggest them a memory upgrade they say "But isn't Ghz the thing that makes it go faster?".